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  <title>Chapter 9</title>
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            <h1 class="title">Chapter 9</h1>
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          <h2 class="subtitle">Lukas</h2>
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      <p class="first first-in-chapter first-full-width"><span class="first-letter first-letter-l">L</span>ukas knew the moment Erika went for broke with her fingers between his pretty Blue dragon’s legs. The woman’s raven hair slid over her shoulders as her head tilted back, the sapphires in her ears sparkling at him almost as brightly as her eyes beneath half-lowered lids. Her lips parted and a sound only he could hear reached his ears—the softest moan of pleasure, so sweet and hungry it made his dick swell inside the leathers he wore. With a clever shift of his fingers on his sax, he changed the key and tempo of the tune to match her breathing.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Every woman had their own rhythm, but they were almost never in sync with his. Hers, however, meshed perfectly. His band fell into the beat like always, and the entire audience ceased to exist except for her.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He knew Erika was doing it to goad him. Being forced to watch without the option to touch made him edgy and irritable. Or it would have, on any other day. Today, the simple conviction that she was here just for him made him amenable to playing along. And it appeared Erika’s Red mate was happy to go along with it, too—he’d slid up close to Erika’s other side, and his arm was positioned so that there was no doubt Erika was receiving a similar treatment to what she was giving.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Sweet Jesus, he loved dragons. Wait until his brother, Iszak, found out Lukas had found <i>her</i>, and that she was one of the creatures they’d always secretly desired.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Having her put on a show just for him while he played for her was the perfect introduction, too. It let them simply see each other; it let her understand what he could do with his music. The music was a gift many of his kind had. He and his brother were what the humans might have called musical prodigies, but their command of the Winds and the powers they possessed were revered by his own race’s standards—their musical talent was the least of it.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He wished he could draw this moment out longer, but it wasn’t his touch inciting her to breathe heavier and bite her lip in an effort to suppress her sounds of ecstasy.</p>
      <p class="subsq"><i>Moan for me, baby, </i>he thought, even as he coaxed from his sax a sensual note that mimicked the sound he was sure she’d make. He’d only heard the first sound she made before she’d stifled the rest, but she seemed to appreciate the tune. Her chest heaved quicker, her hand tangled in the waves at the back of Erika’s neck while Erika spoke into her ear. Erika urged her on with breathy words, hitching and rough from her own pleasure.</p>
      <p class="subsq"><i>“Come so he can see—it’ll drive him so wild, he won’t be able to resist.”</i></p>
      <p class="subsq">No, he wouldn’t be able to resist. He’d been lost the second she walked through the door. Erika only needed to take credit for bringing her here.</p>
      <p class="subsq">As though it were his own fingertips playing her, the music’s climax hit at the exact same moment her head fell back against the seat and a ripple of pure pleasure coursed down her body. Erika grinned for a second, waiting and teasing until his blue lady’s pleasure finally ebbed. Then Erika turned, pulling her dragon mate into a deep kiss while the male carried her to her own obviously satisfying end, his ministrations still artfully obscured by the tablecloth.</p>
      <p class="subsq">The woman’s breathing began to slow at the same pace as his song, and she never once let her gaze wander from him. Then the set was over and Lukas pulled his lips away from the mouthpiece. Reluctant to turn away from her for any reason, but needing to cool off, he winked at her, then stood up from his stool and bowed to the cheering crowd.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“You look a little shaky, man. Everything cool? You good for another set?” Dan, his bassist, murmured from behind him.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Yeah. Take five. I need a drink.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">He unclipped his sax and rested it on its stand, then turned and made his way down from the stage, past the expectant-looking blonde from earlier, only dimly aware of her excitement and subsequent disappointment when he walked past her table. He bee-lined straight to the booth in the back where his blue lady still sat, sipping a fresh glass of red wine and watching him come toward her as though she were expecting him. And shouldn’t she be, after that?</p>
      <p class="subsq">For the first time in Lukas’s life, words escaped him. He just stopped and looked at her, unable to articulate any kind of introduction. His fingers itched for his sax so he could play her another song, connect with her in the same way they had while he was on stage.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Erika’s sultry chuckle rang in his ears. “Lukas, I’d like you to meet my friend, Belah. Belah, this is Lukas North. Fantastic show, as always.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Thank you,” Lukas said, tearing his eyes away from Belah just long enough to politely nod at Erika. He had the craziest urge to bow, but instead only held out his hand. <i>Belah, Belah, Belah, </i>he said over and over in his mind. What a fucking beautiful name. <i>Belah Blue</i>.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He did bow when she placed her smooth, pale hand in his. He bent low over it and pressed his lips to the silken skin, enjoying the little intake of breath he heard when he darted his tongue out to fleetingly taste her. He resisted the urge to pull her up and into his arms, instead raising his head and nodding again at Erika and her mate.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure?”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Erika grinned, her cheeks growing even rosier as she introduced the Red. “Gavin Hayden,” she said, but stumbled a bit over the name. It hit him that she may not have been clued in by her mate that Lukas was a turul, otherwise she’d have used her lover’s real name. He glanced at the Red and raised an eyebrow.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“My friends call me Geva. You’re the first turul Erika’s met … that she knew of, anyway,” he said, reaching out and grasping Lukas’s hand with his, dwarfing it in the process. Lukas was abstractly grateful that the females of the race weren’t quite so large, but then the dragons did get to choose their human forms, unlike his race. He wholeheartedly approved of Belah’s shapely curves.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Erika’s eyes widened and she turned to whisper a question in her lover’s ear. Lukas would let them deal with the miscommunication on their own. Shifting his attention back to Belah, he smiled.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“May I?” he asked, gesturing to the seat beside her.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Yes,” she said, scooting farther into the booth to make room for him.</p>
      <p class="subsq">One of the club’s waitresses promptly set his preferred drink down in front of him, and he thanked her before turning back to Belah.</p>
      <p class="subsq">She regarded him with an interested look that barely concealed a deeper hunger. If he didn’t know how dragons worked, she would have given him the distinct impression that he would be her dinner. Clearing his throat, he tore his gaze from hers and focused on the ice in his glass.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Ah, how are you enjoying the show?” he asked lamely.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“More enthralling than my sweetest dreams,” she replied, her voice smooth and cool, with a hint of a deeper resonance that set his musician’s instincts vibrating. His cock definitely knew that song.</p>
      <p class="subsq">From the other side of the booth, Erika leaned forward. “Why isn’t your brother up there with you tonight?” she asked. Turning to Belah, she added, “The pair of them together are even better. Of course, Ozzie’s the glue. Their trio’s what I played for you last night.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">The mention of his brother and cousin made Lukas itch uncomfortably. Family meant everything to him, but ever since his sister died, their relationships had gradually degenerated. Erika had met them during one of their reunion phases about a decade past. They’d tried to be a family again—for their late sister’s sake—but that never went well. Evie had been their front-woman, before the Ultiori took her. She was the one with the voice. Adding Ozzie to the mix was supposed to revive them, but hadn’t really helped. Their music had improved somewhat over the years, but their relationship was still shit.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Erika didn’t know that about him, though. At the time, she’d been attached to Ozzie’s hip. She’d only known that he and his brother were broody musicians with short attention spans where lovers were concerned. Lukas loved his brother, but they’d established over and over that they simply couldn’t work together for extended periods or they’d both self-destruct.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Iszak has his own solo gig now. Fate’s Fools still play at the Gatormouth once a month.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">The truth was, they couldn’t <i>not</i> make music together on a regular basis. He and Iszak still lived together, which was just about the maximum amount of contact he could handle with his brother—but necessary, according to their grandmother. So they compromised. Ozzie hated the band’s schedule, but he was young, and drummers never had a problem finding gigs.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Turning back to Belah, he said, “You should come. The show’s two weeks from tonight.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“You play with your brother, and … cousin?”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Her accented voice was so light and hesitant, as though she weren’t a native speaker of the language. Even though she spoke perfect English, he had to remind himself that it was Dragon Ascension season and she might have been born in another country. Fuck, another <i>century</i>.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Right,” he said, nodding. “My brother plays tenor sax or guitar, depending on his mood, and our cousin plays drums.” He beat out a soft rhythm on the table to emphasize.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Your cousin … Ozzie…?”</p>
      <p class="subsq">By the Winds, was she adorable, working over the words in that sweet tone of hers. He wondered if she could sing.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Well, his given name is Oszkar, but that’s what we call him, yeah … Erika must have mentioned him. He’s the best percussionist in the world, really. Kicks a beat like no other.” He snorted slightly, thinking about how well he’d heard Ozzie kicking a beat with Erika back in her groupie days, but elected not to share that detail in front of Erika’s intimidating mate.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Does he come to your shows when you don’t play together?” she asked, looking around.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Now Lukas was worried. “Never, actually … I mean, we have our regular gig, but we try to stay out of each other’s hair in between. It’s not like we need to practice. My bandmates hate that I never show up for that, but they know me.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Oh.” She seemed to visibly relax.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Before he could ask her about it, the telltale riffs from his bassist sounded, letting him know his guys were ready to start the next set.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“That’s my cue,” he said. He stood up and kissed her cheek, hating that he had to leave her now, but he was committed to all his gigs. Even though they were part of his human cover, he needed to play music like he needed to breathe. He wouldn’t cut a gig short for a woman he’d just met, even if it physically hurt him to walk away from her.</p>
      <p class="subsq">And fuck, did it hurt when he walked away.</p>
      <p class="subsq"><i>She’s the One.</i></p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas took his spot on stage again, with his sax in hand and his butt on his stool. When he locked eyes with Belah again, the ache in his soul disappeared.</p>
      <p class="subsq">And he played, their gazes never straying for the rest of the night.</p>
      <p class="subsq">By the end of the evening, he had no memory of what he’d played, only that the entire audience stood up and applauded and the guys were patting his back saying things like, “Holy shit, dude, where the fuck did that come from?”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Her … it came from her. As he looked down at Belah’s smiling face, he shook his head in wonder. “It’s you,” he mouthed to her, not even caring whether she knew what he meant.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Her head tilted, and she whispered back the word, “Maybe.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">How could she not know? His gut clenched with worry, but she stayed, at least, smiling and waiting for him to pack up for the night. He watched her say farewell to her friends, and for the first time in forever, he was actually happy … scratch that, fucking <i>ecstatic </i>… to be going home for the night.</p>
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